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How does stress affect you?
Fri, 09/14/2007 - 23:04Hi everyone. I'm curious how stress affects you and your seizures? There is still so much I don't understand about seizures, and what is and what isn't a seizure.
I have always been a high-stress personality. Sine childhood I've been told I need to learn how to deal with stress for health reasons but have never had much luck.
Since being diagnosed with seizures I have really made a point of 'trying' to relax and remain as 'stress-free' as possible. If you knew me, you'd know this is a major accomplishment! But, I've been doing much better. Well, today that all came crashing down.
I woke up to some very aggravating news this morning via email. The more I thought about it, the more I got really upset, stressed, and even angry, which isn't like me. I am always slow to anger, but today was the exception. I rapidly got a really bad headache. I finally got into work and found my headache was increasing. To make matters worse, it was a fast-paced morning at work. The headache kind of came and went throughout the morning. I then got that really bad tingling sensation on the left side of my head that just wouldn't stop. While taking a letter from my boss I started having to struggle to listen to him, which made me even more frustrated and continued to make it harder to concentrate. After finishing the letter I just put my head in my hands and rested for about 2 minutes and took some deep breathes. At that point I was feeling really light headed. After 15-20 minutes I started feeling a little better again. Soon it was the end of my work day so my boss drove me home. I tried not to let my boss know how badly I was feeling, but after 10 years of working for him, he knew I wasn't feeling well and even teased me about it to try and make me feel better and lighten the mood.
After he dropped me off I went inside, made sure to eat lunch, and then laid down on the couch to sleep it off for the remainder of the afternoon until my daughter got home from school.
I felt better when I woke up, but the tingling sensation is still there although the headache has really faded.
After this long explanation, I guess what I want to know is does stress really affect seizures? Would what I described be considered a partial seizure? I never had these tingling sensations until after I had the gran mal seizure 4 months ago.
I am worried because I have a really busy weekend ahead and now I am not feeling at my best at all. Unfortunately, I am committed to a project that I absolutely cannot get out of-- and I am in charge of it. Now I am scared the stress of the weekend will make something happen-- which is a vicious circle, because I know that is only putting more stress on me.
Can anyone give me any input on their experiences? Thanks in advance!
~ Believe
Comments
Re: How does stress affect you?
Submitted by michaelH on Sun, 2007-09-16 - 21:56
Being a police officer I know how much stress can affect seizures-at least for me it plays a big part. The feelings or symptoms you describe are similar to what I get when I'm having a bad day. I have simple partial seizures also. Usually when I feel like you it doesn't go beyond that point (except for last night). I'd say controlling stress seems imposible for me and it's a struggle to stay mentally fit when your life is full of stressors. Before I was on Keppra, it would progress from the warning signs and overall feeling of being ill to a small seizure. Only when I failed to get an adequate amount of sleep did I have (for me) is a bad seizure. I have learned to get used to yucky feeling associated with it, and accept it even though it's frustrating. Keeping it minimized is my goal. I hope you find a way to feel better because I know how you feel.
Re: How does stress affect you?
Submitted by Magnus Carlberg on Wed, 2007-09-19 - 09:58
I have had epilepsy for a few years. Most likely triggered from being "burnt out". I used to be MD for one of our companies. Staying away from this kept me seizure free for 3 months. Then I thought I was fit and took the MD post back. More or less immediately I started to get seizures again. Leaving the MD post again and less seizures. I have also noticed, and would like others to comment, that when I get frustrated over something it can trigger seizures. I get very frustrated over my business partners and always get seizures at our board meetings. I have complex partial seizures and lose consciousness for a minute and need another 2-5 to realize where I am. I am changing from Lamictal to Carbamazepin (or whatever spelling) and since joining this site have added more Sodium and B vitamins in my diet and that makes me feel better.
Re: Re: How does stress affect you?
Submitted by Johan on Sat, 2007-09-15 - 16:48
What exactly is the medication you use to keep nucturnals under conyrol as that is the only type I have. The only one added to my normal set of medication is Urbanol which I take only at night.